


The Fugitive

by HighlyLostCause



Category: Roswell New Mexico (TV 2019)
Genre: Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-30
Updated: 2020-05-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 18:42:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23931751
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HighlyLostCause/pseuds/HighlyLostCause
Summary: When Alex starts looking for a petty criminal-turned-fugitive for evading court, he has absolutely no idea of what he is getting into.
Relationships: Maria DeLuca & Alex Manes, Michael Guerin/Alex Manes
Comments: 24
Kudos: 43





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is directly inspired by an episode of _God Friended Me_ (2x19). It's really a great show if you are looking for something to watch (; 
> 
> Anyway, the fic is completetly written so I'm just gonna post a chapter a day \o/

Alex looks up the bench warrant from his computer and sighs. He had thought this was going to be an easy job and was clearly mistaken. Apparently this car thief who had decided to not show up at court today was pretty smart.The guy had turn off his phone and deactivated his credit card the day before. He wasn’t going to be easy to find.

But Alex is nothing but stubborn. He has been doing this job - bail enforcement agent - for a couple of years now and has never fail to turn the fugitives over to the authorities. Today wasn’t going to be the day he would let someone escape.

He glances at the picture of the guy in the file on his desk. Michael Guerin. The first thing that had struck Alex when he saw it was the curls. He had never seen hair like that. Even with the low quality of the mugshot, it seems like the softest thing he has ever seen. If he wasn’t trying to work, Alex would probably be wondering how it would felt under his fingers. From the look of it, Guerin hadn't been sleeping well before the shot was taken. There’s large bag under his honey coloured eyes and he clearly hasn’t shave recently. But he still looks good.

Alex forces himself to stop looking at the picture and focuses instead on the bank record he has found. He doesn’t take long to find his bank statement. The latest action is a huge cash retrieval from yesterday but Alex doesn’t look into it. He know he won’t find anything relevant here. But it seems that this Guerin is a regular customer of the small dinner The Crashdown. He has been eating there everyday for more than a year. Alex smiles. He gots a first lead.

The drive to the dinner isn’t long and Alex quickly finds a spot to park his car. Inside, he heads straight for the counter where thankfully no one is waiting. The waitress notices him and signals him to wait as she finishes a milkshake.

“What can I do for you?”

“Do you know a Michael Guerin?” He asks. He is about to take the picture of the guy in his pocket to show her when she nods.

“Yeah, he comes in here pretty regularly. Really nice guy. And great tipper.”

“Do you have any idea of where he might be now?”

She shakes her head.

“We don’t talk a lot, the place is always busy. I don’t want to pry but what is this about? I can’t really talk about the customers like that.”

“He was supposed to show for court today and never did. He is probably on the run and from what I’ve heard, he doesn’t look good for him.”

“Oh. Fuck.” 

“What?”

“He came by yesterday, explaining that his bank froze his account by mistake and that he needed to get a train ticket away from here. He gave me cash to get it for him.”

“Did you remember were he was trying to go?”

“No, I don’t… I payed with my phone, I should probably still have the informations here…”

Alex has to refrain himself from snatching the device from her hand. The train is leaving today, in less than twenty minutes. He doesn’t have much time if he wants to catch the guy. Hopefully, the train station is only a couple block away. Alex decides to run there instead of losing time by taking his car and having to find another parking spot.

“Thank you.” He says as he rushes out.

The train station is busy but Alex stills manages to make his way on the platform looking for the guy. He seems to be running out of time : the train arrives in three minutes when he spots the curls. The guy isn’t that tall but his hair definitely are unique and stand out in the crowd. At this point, Alex isn’t past pushing a few people out of his way as he walks towards his target.

His back is turn and he seems unaware of him. That’s great because Alex doesn’t feel like chasing the guy after sprinting to get here in time.

“Michael Guerin.” He says as he puts his hand on his shoulder to force him to turn. The guy starts but doesn’t run, Alex’s grips preventing it. His eyes are wide open, full of fear.

“I’m here because you didn’t show up for…” - a movement on the guy’s chest catches his attention - “and you have a baby.”

Alex was definitely not expecting that. He suddenly freezes, not knowing what to do next, and stars at the child. Carefully wrapped up in a old blanket, the toddler is asleep, gripping Guerin’s t-shirt with a tiny little hand.

“What do you want?”

Alex jerks his head up when Michael Guerin speaks.

“You didn’t show up for court today, even tho the DA was offering you a pretty decent deal.” He says matter-of-factly. “I’m here to take you back.”

“You’re a bail agent.” He sighs and looks sadly at the child he is caryring. 

“I like bounty hunter better, but yeah, i am.” Alex nods. He grabs the handcuffs from his pocket. “Now, if you can just follow me, it would be way easier for both of us. And for...”

Alex just gestures at the kid. He really hopes Guerin won’t try to run - he hasn’t make a move yet, even if Alex isn’t holding him anymore - because he certainly doesn’t want to hurt the toddler by accident. Clearly, Guerin has come to the same conclusion because he simply sighs.

“Nora. Her name is Nora.”

“It’s a nice name.”

At the same moment, a speaker annouces that the train is approaching the platform. Michael Guerin looks at the rails before focusing on his precious package. He sighs a second time before gesturing for Alex to lead the way.

“I can’t take this deal.”

They are outside the station, walking towards the dinner, when Guerin speaks. Alex doesn’t stop but turns his head to stare at him.

“Why not? Three years in prison is way better that fifteen years for stealing a car. That is what’s going to happen if you fail to show up again tomorrow.”

“I can’t. I can’t leave her.”

_Oh._

“You know you can enstrust her to your family while you serve your time.”

“I can’t do that.” He holds his tiny girl tighter, smiling sadly at her. “I wasn’t supposed to go to jail.”

Alex doesn’t answer because they have reached his car. He takes his keys and gestures for Guerin to get inside. He doesn’t have a bassinet for the baby but Guerin doesn’t seem to want to let go of her, so it probably won’t be a problem. 

They are on their way to the police station when Guerin starts talking again.

“I wasn’t supposed to go to jail.”

“Then why did you plead guilty?”

“Because my public defender said since I had no priors, I'd get probation. But then the DA came back with three years. I couldn't believe it…. I told my lawyer we had to fight, that I was innocent. He said if we took it to trial, we'd just lose. And I'd end up with the maximum sentence. Which is 15 years. And Nora's raised in the system. What was I supposed to do? I didn’t even know that the car was stolen until the cops pulled me over.”

“How could not have known that?”

“I’m a mechanic. A guy called me to pick up his car, told me he was having trouble with it. He offered me some extra cash to do it right away. I was on my way back to the scrapyard with it, when i was arrested. And you know the rest.”

He shakes his head, making his curls bounce lightly.

“And now, I’m looking at three years with probation for something I didn’t even do.”

“Did you tell that to your lawyer?”

Guerin glances at him with a 

“Yeah, man, of course I did.”

“So why didn’t you try to fight the DA offer?”

“I don’t have the cash afford a real lawyer and they manage to get me the busiest public defender they could find. He didn’t have the time for that. And taking the deal would mean she would go into the system.”

“So you try to run.” Alex says matter-of-factly. “Do you really wanna raise your daughter on the run?”

“At least I'll be the one raising her… Look, if I go to jail, there's no one to look after Nora. Her mother's gone, and I have no family. So she'll go into the system.” He sighs deeply, turning his head to look at Alex. “I, uh... I never had a family… I grew up in foster care. Bounced around homes. Raised by people who saw me as nothing more than a government paycheck. I'm not gonna let that happen to her.”

_Oh._

The rest of the drive is mostly silent. Guerin is softly humming, cradling his daughter, probably trying to enjoy the rest of the time he has with her. And Alex tries to give him some privacy, keeping his eyes on the road. He feels bad for the guy. It’s the first time, he has remorses for bringing someone in. But he doesn’t let himself ligner on that, he has a job to do.


	2. Chapter 2

Alex is sitting on a stool, picking at the label of his beer. After a job, he comes in his favorite bar - The Wild Pony - to get a drink and take a break. He usually doesn’t stay long, just to catch up with his best friend, the owner of the place, but today he doesn’t feel like going back to work. He had dropped Michael Guerin at the police station and took his paycheck, like usual. But before he could leave, the CPS agent was taking Nora away from Micheal. He couldn’t forget the man’s face while he was forced to watch his kid leaving.

Too lost in his tought, Alex doesn’t see Maria DeLuca approching before she throws a dish towel in his face.

“Ouch.”

“Yeah well, you have been ignoring me for past two minutes.” She smiles, before looking briefly at the bottle between them. “And you have been nursing this for way too long, so tell me, what’s on your mind?”

Alex sighs. He doesn’t really want to talk about it but he also know that Maria won’t let him alone until he does.

“Uh, today’s job was hard.”

“How? Did the guy put up a fight or something?”

“No, it was just a guy who didn’t show up in court. Finding him wasn’t that hard and he agreed immediatly to come back with me. But…” He shakes his head. “He had this kid with him, no more than a couple months old, i think…”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” He takes a sip of his now warm beer. “He was running because he didn’t want her to end up in the system.”

“And let’s me guess, you feel bad for bringing him in.” Maria looks at him, a soft smile on her lips. “Alex Manes, your heart is too big. But the system isn’t probably that bad?”

“I don’t know… He apparently grews up in foster care and was bad for him…”

“Well, there isn’t anything you can do about that now…”

Alex doesn’t answer. But Maria is called away by another bartender and she leaves him alone. Though, she returns a few minutes later and gestures to a booth.

“It’s my break, want to tell me more about this or do you want to hear me complain about my day?”

“I think I would rather let you ramble about your job. I should really stop thinking about that because you’re right, I can’t do anything anymore.”

“Perfect. Let me just take some good stuff because this beer is probably disgusting by now.”

A few shots of tequila later, Alex has almost forgot about today’s job. Almost. Maria is currently talking about a picky customer who made her redo a cocktail at least three time the last night but Alex can’t really focus on her story. He can’t forget Guerin’s look when they took Nora. His friend seems to notice that and she gently taps on his shoulder.

“Let me guess, your job?”

“Yeah… I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be. Tell me more about the guy who arrested then, if you can take him out of your head.”

“Oh my god, no. It isn’t like that!”

“You sure? Do you have a picture?”

Alex can’t help but shake his head, laughing, as he pulls his phone to show Maria the bench warrant with Guerin’s mugshot.

“He is kinda hot.”

“No the point, but yeah.”

Then Alex tells her everything he knows about Michael Guerin and the case.

“So he is innocent?”

“That’s right.”

“I can understand why you feel a little guilty about bringing in an innocent man. But you just did your job and no one can reproach you for that.”

“I know.” Alex sighs deeply. “I just wish I could have done something to help, I didn’t sign up to be bail agent to help putting innocents in jail, quite the opposite actually.”

“Well… You told me Guerin didn’t know about the car being stolen before he got arrested. Right, so… finding the actual car thief would help his case, wouldn’t it?”

“Maria, you’re a genius!”

“I know but people doesn’t acknowlegde that enough.”

Alex rises up and kisses her cheeks.

“Thank you!” He quickly finishes his drink and puts some money on the table to pay his tab. He has something to do. “I’ll see you later!”

“Right, I want to hear the end of this story.”

Alex rushs to the police station where he dropped Guerin. If asked, he won’t admit he sped up and almost jumped the lights to get there as fast as he can. The policemen are surprised to see him but they don’t really ask more question when Alex says he is here to see Michael Guerin because he needs more informations for his file.

A cadet shows him to the holding cell. The guy sitting on the bench raises his head when he hears them coming. Alex easily recognize Guerin’s characteristic curly hairs. He will never tell Maria but she is right, the guy is kinda hot. And totally Alex’s type. 

“Isn’t that the bounty hunter?” He drawls. “What are you doing here?”

“Guerin, I’m here to help you.”

But before he can tell him more, another policeman comes in the holding area. He tells a few words to the cadet who dutyfully open the door.

“Michael Guerin?”

“That’s me.”

“You got bail out, you are free to go.”

Guerin quickly picks up his belongings and gets out. He doesn’t really pay attention to Alex as he makes his way trought the station.

“If I recall, you brought me here. I don’t really know what you could do to help now. If you really wanted to do that, maybe you could just have let me run with Nora.”

“That wouldn’t have help you and you know it.”

Alex follows him. Guerin greets and talks quietly to another man. His lawyer, probably. His face is familiar, if he is a public defender, he might have also work on several cases where Alex had to bring in the suspect. But he doesn’t really have the time to try to remember if he met him or if he just remember his face after seeing it while he was tracking Guerin down. The two men are exiting the building. He needs to stop them, to talk to them before it’s too late for him to help.

“Guerin.”

“What do you want?”

“My client won’t be answering anymore question today.” The lawyer steps in.

“I’m not a cop.” Alex protests. “And I’m here to help.”

“Says the guy who brought me him.”

“I was just doing my job. But I really think you should hear me out.”

“Sir, you heard my client. He doesn’t want to talk to you”.

The lawyer tries to make Guerin leave the building, clearly not wanting for the situation to get messier. And he is right, severals policemen are following their exchange, thinking they are discreet hiding behind files and cups of coffee. But Alex is nothing but stubborn.

“Michael!” The man stops moving and turns to face him. Alex takes a deep breath, groundind himself. “I think I know a way for you stay with Nora.”

It takes a few seconds before anyone move or say something. But a few seconds if enough for Alex to get stressed. He doesn’t want to give Guerin false hope about his daughter but he also know if he doesn’t help him, he will forever regret it. 

But finally, Guerin talks.

“Well… I could use the drink. Wanna come with?”


	3. Chapter 3

The three men are sitting in a nearby bar. Beers are on the table in front of them, but no one is drinking. Alex can feel Guerin and his lawyer looking at him. He is the one who asked to talk to them, so he is probably the one who should start to talk. He clears his throat.

“You told me you didn’t know the car was stolen, right?”

“Yeah…”

He turns to the lawyer who seems both curious and afraid of what is happening there. Alex doesn’t blame him, if he was in his shoes, he would also try to prevent his client from saying anything incrimiting.

“So if the guy who actually stole it testify, that would help his case?”

“Probably.” He nods. “But we need to find him for that…”

“I can help with that actually.”

“You think you can find him?” Guerin sounds hopeful. “How are you gonna do that?”

“You said he called you, so I might be able to track him down with his phone number. Do you have your phone?”

“Sure…” He looks at his lawyer, waiting for his confirmation.

“If he wants to help, we should let him. Anything that can help you is good for your case.”

Guerin unlocks his phone and hands it to Alex. He doesn’t seem to use it very much so finding the number of the thief isn’t that hard. Then Alex tooks his laptop and starts working, under the scrutiny of the two men.

“Is this even legal?”

Alex smiles and turns away from his computer, letting it search for the guy location.

“Well… depends on who you ask. But yeah, mostly.”

“Mostly? Am I gonna get into some kind of trouble for asking for you help?”

“No, you won’t. Don’t worry about that.”

“I just realized you know most of the interesting things about me and I don’t even know your name.”

“It’s Alex.”

“And do you have a last name, Alex?”

“Manes.”

Guerin hums and picks up his phone again. It takes a few seconds for Alex to register what he is doing with it.

“Are you googling me? Please, tell me you aren’t googling me.”

But the smirk on Guerin’s face is enough of an answer. Alex knows what he will find: some articles about his service and his injury, a fews about the trials he help with and, if he dug far enough, probably something on his highschool website.

“You don’t look like someone who served.”

“Hum… thanks, i guess?”

“Is that you?” Guerin turns his phone to show him a picture and Alex nods. “You look weird with short hair. They are better now.”

“I think this was taken before my first tour, so yeah it felt weird. But you get use to it.”

The lawyer who has been silent for a long time suddenly rises up, checking up his watch.

“I have to leave, I have another appointement. But keep me posted about that, because if that can get my client out of jail, it would be great.”

“No problem, I can do that.”

“And please, Mr. Guerin, show up for court tomorrow. I don’t really want them to issue another bench warrant against you because that doesn’t help your case.”

“I don’t really have an interest to run now…” Guerin mumbles as his lawyer leaves the bar. “Nora is in the system.”

“And we are working on something that will get her out and back with you. You made the right call.”

“Don’t feel like it.”

“Don’t worry, we will find this guy. I’m very good at my job.”

“About that, can I ask you more questions? Like how did you ended up as a bounty hunter after getting out of the Army?”

“Air Force, actually.” Alex corrects out of habits. “I was a codebreaker so when I got out, I figure I should keep doing something I was good at. I worked for a couple months in a cyber-security firm but before quiting because I missed being able to make a difference. Then I reconnected with a friend I hadn’t seen in years and when they joked about bounty hunting, I looked it up and found it was a real thing.”

“So it’s just a huge coincidence?”

“Pretty much, yeah. And how about you? I’ve read in your file that you got a PhD in engineering…”

“And you want to know why I’m a mechanic?”

“Yes, if you don’t mind.”

“Well, I start working in this scrapyard while I was in college. I had a full scholarship but a little more money was always welcome. Anyway, when I finally got my PhD, I didn’t feel like finding a new job. I felt like I belonged there and I realised I like working on actual engines better than designing them.”

“So you are just a over-qualified mechanic?”

“You can say that. My turn. An article about you said something about an injury… I don’t what to pry but…”

Alex just taps on his right calf. The metallic sound doesn’t disturb as it used to but Guerin wasn’t expecting that from the look on his face. But the surprise is quickly replaced by honest curiosity.

“So you were a prosthetic? How does it work?”

“Like how is build?” Alex is surprised by the question. No one before Guerin had asked about the prosthetic. Most people prefer to just forget about the injury. “I have no idea. I never really thought about that. I’m just glad I have my mobility back. Do you know a few things about prosthetics?”

“Yes, I do. While I was in college, we had a assignement where we had to work with med students to create new kind of prosthetics.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It was kind of nice to talk about something else that engines during those few weeks.”

Alex really wants to ask more questions to Guerin but a notification on his computer calls his attention.

“Did it find somehting?”

“Yes, I got a name and adress for the guy who gave you the stolen car.”

“Are we going to go there?”

“You probably really want to confront the guy yourself but it isn’t a good idea. I’ve a few friends in the force, so I’m gonna make a few phone calls now.”

“Okay, then, I just gonna wait here until you are done.”

Half an hour later, Alex sits back on his chair. It was relatively easy to get someone to check on the guy. He tells Guerin that he was taken in for questionning because he apparently already had a nice record and spent some time in jail for a few other car thefts.

“It does look good for you. You should probably tell your lawyer about that.”

“You’re right. Excuse me for a minute.”

Alex puts his computer away while Guerin makes his phone call. When he comes back to their table, he is grinning.

“What did he say?”

“Well, not to get my hopes too up but that it’s a good thing for my case. Did you hear anything else from your friend?”

“No, but interrogation can take time. They promised to keep me updated, tho.”

“Right. What are you gonna do now?”

“Hum… Usually, I would look for another job but I’m too tired to do anything else today. So, probably go home and wait for an update on this. You should do the same, go home and get some rest because you’re gonna have a long day tomorrow.”

“Oh. Well… do you mind if I wait with you? I don’t really feel like going home without Nora…”

It doesn’t take long for Alex to make a decision. Even if going home and watching something stupid on Netflix is tempting, staying with Micheal Guerin and getting to know him better seems way more interesting.

“I don’t mind, we can do that.”

They ended up ordering way more than another round and sharing stupid stories about their life. Even if he only knows Michael for less than a day, Alex feels at ease with him. Even when they are talking about their childhood. Most people says that it’s easier to share very personnal things with complete strangers. But that’s the thing. Alex doesn’t feel like Michael is a stranger. After a few drinks, still waiting for a update from the police, they decide to go to the Crashdown.

Alex now totally understands why Michael is a regular of the place. The dinner doesn’t look much but the food is trully amazing. On top of that, their milkshakes are perfect for dipping fries. Michael seems horrified as he watches Alex popping another dipped fry in his mouth.

“You should try, it makes them so much better.”

“Maybe another time. For now, I’m gonna take your word for it.”

They are just finishing their meal when Alex’s phone starts ringing. They are so lost in their bubble that the sound makes both of them jump.

As he answers the call, Michael watches him attentively. Alex stands up to go a more private corner of the dinner, trying to hear what his friend is saying the noise. He wasn’t expecting the place to be this busy.

“Well, I have very good news for you.” He slides back in their booth. “The guy confessed. So unless something is very wrong with the judge, you will be acquited.”

“Seriously?” Michael’s beaming. “Thank you so much for your help!”

“I’m just glad I didn’t help put an innocent in jail.”

“No, honestly, thank you. I really owe you one.”

“You’re very welcome. But you don’t owe me anything, I was just doing my job. Anyway, I should really call it a day.”

“Well, I should also go back home. Don’t want to be late for court tomorrow.”

“Yeah, I don’t want to have to drag you back there.”

Alex gathers his things and leaves enough change on the table to cover his meal. He has almost reached the door when Michael calls his turn. He stops to turn and smile at the other man.

“Alex! Thank you for accepting to spend the evening. It was really nice.”

“Yeah, it was.”

Alex is smiling softly as he makes his way home.


	4. Chapter 4

Alex wasn’t really planning to go to the courthouse. But he was really curious to know how this would end for Micheal. He also told himself it would be the perfect place to find another job. 

When he finally walks into the building, later than he thought because he actually slept throught the night, Michael is just getting out.

“Alex, what are you doing here?”

“Hum… looking for another job. And I wanted to check on you.”

“Yeah? You keep showing up like this, I'm gonna start thinking you like me.”

“You wish. So, what did they say?”

“Hum, I’m a free man. Well, mostly. The judge was a bit mad at me for not showing up yesterday so he gave me a month of community service.”

“Yeah, this one is a real pain in the ass. But I’m happy for you. What does it mean for you and Nora?”

“They gave me the adress of the group home she is in. I’m on my way to get her back.” He pauses, consedering something. “Wanna come with?”

“That would be my pleasure.”

“I thought you were here to look for another bounty to hunt?”

“Honestly, it can wait. And I think that after working on your case, I deserve a day-off.”

And besides, who is he kidding? He would rather spend a day with Michael than hunting down another guy who try to run from justice.

It doesn’t take long to get Nora back. Michael’s smile when he can finally hold his daughter is contagious. If her own smile is any indication, she is overjoyed too. Then Michael insists on presenting her properly to Alex.

Alex doesn’t really have any experience with babies so he carefully follows Michael’s instructions to hold her. She doesn’t make a noice once she is in his arms and grabs his leather jacket with her tiny head.

“She likes you.” Michael smiles, stroking sofltly Nora’s head. “Alex?”

Alex raises his eyes.

“Yes?”

“Would you like to go get some drink some day?”

“I would love to.”

“Yeah?’

“Of course.”

“It’s a date, then.”

“It’s a date.”

“How did I get to be so lucky?”

“Let me think… I think it has something to do with you not showing up for your own trial.” 

“Yeah, right. I probably won’t ever live this down.” Michael chuckles as Alex gives him Nora back.

“No, you probably won’t.”


End file.
